I Remember
by coldqueen
Summary: A night of partying leads to complications, and no one is quite sure how complicated things are going to get...ROZ, SHEYLA
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything...nada...I even stole the comp I'm writing this on...**

Title: _I Remember_

Summary: After a night of celebrating, Elizabeth wakes up to a pleasant, no, make that shocking, surprise. Watch as the ramifications of this night slam through Atlantis, and the repercussions change everything, forever. WARNING! This is ROZ (Ronan/Liz) and SHEYLA (though this is only an afterthought to the ROZ)...

* * *

_**I remember it well  
The first time that I saw  
Your head around the door  
'Cause mine stopped working**_

_-_Damien Rice, "I Remember"

* * *

The morning crept over Elizabeth slowly. Usually, she was up with the sun and working before most of Atlantis even thought of getting out of bed. Today was a day for leisure, however. Yesterday, she and Lieutenant Colonel Shepard, along with his team, had made contact with the Avarians, a planet of maybe 2 billion. It was first contact, and this time it'd actually gone great. The Avarians were actually about fifty years ahead of Earth, technology-wise, but with Atlantis being in Earth's hands, they were all about even.

In fact, the meet and greet had been so good, that the Avarians had thrown an impromptu party for them. After weeks of being on edge, what with the "Michael-Wraith" experiment and its disastrous results, Elizabeth had given in to the requests and allowed the people who'd accompanied her to "let down their hair". She herself had even given in to Shepard and Teyla's ribbing and drank some of the Avarian's specialty drink. It was called _Lechto Niote_. Translated, best as they could, it meant Demon's Spit. Very salivating.

That would have been the last thing Elizabeth remembered, but even as she lay there in the warm sunlight that came through the wooden slacks that encased the window, a slightly hairy and heavy arm slid around her waist and pulled close, evoking flashes of the night before.

She'd had more than one drink, and here on Avaria they were strong. She'd gotten...drunk. Very irresponsible of her, but the goading of her friends had gotten to her. So she'd imbibed a little too much. Elizabeth could remember watching Shepard and McKay dance; they too were a little drunk. Then things got blurry again. The next thing she remembers is walking down a dark corridor to the quarters she'd been assigned. There had been someone with her. Someone who had been "helping" her remove her shirt. Then, her memory went hazy again, and when it came back, it came with a bang. Or, rather, her banging someone.

She vaguely remembered toe-curling, back-arching sensations, and an intense feeling of gratification...and the feel of long dread locks caressing her stomach. Oh, dear lord...

Elizabeth turned in the arms of whomever she'd spent last night with, and fought the urge to scream. She'd had sex with Ronan. She'd had mind-blowing, sore-muscles sex with Ronan Dex. Ooooh, that rhymed.

Elizabeth felt the wild urge to laugh. Loudly. That would wake Ronan up, and she wanted to be far away before she did that. What had she been thinking? This sort of incident could completely undermine the respect and authority she'd built up over the last year. This sort of thing could lead to her getting reported and called back to Earth.

Elizabeth froze mid-reach for her shirt, which was hanging off the bed post. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea. Home. She could go home. Immediately, she shook that off. Atlantis was home now, and she wasn't letting anyone take that away.

Moving slowly, so as not to wake the big hunk of hot warrior beside her, Elizabeth slid from under Ronan's arm. She tried to move so that she could slip from the bed quietly, but to her still sleep-slowed limbs it came out as an ungraceful thump onto her rear. Ronan didn't stir.

Grabbing her clothes, consisting of a skirt and a knit-top and flip-flops, she dressed in the dark. She moved quickly, but took the time to stare at Ronan. Mostly, to make sure he didn't wake up, but also because he looked peaceful asleep. All the tensions in his shoulders were gone, and the worry lines imbedded near his eyebrows as well. Both came from too many years on the run. For a few seconds, Elizabeth felt almost tenderness for Ronan. He was only three years younger than she, but she felt oddly maternal to him. He'd become so primal, so basic when on the run, that it was almost like he was growing up, maturing right before her eyes. The soreness in her hips told her that he was maturing just fine.

There was only one thing left to do before she left, and it proved to be impossible in the dark. Elizabeth couldn't find her underwear. That's what she got for wearing a thong. Damn panty lines. Within five minutes, she gave up the search and headed for the door. This was the greatest risk, what with the doors opening the Atlantian way, with a "whoosh". It wasn't really loud, but in the silence of the room, it would seem to be.

Almost like she couldn't help herself, Elizabeth froze at the door, and turned to him. It was almost psychotic, this urge she had to go back to that bed and climb in, screw the consequences. She had people who relied on her, however, and she couldn't give in to temptation.

Elizabeth waved her hand in front of the crystals, and stepped through the now open door, still looking over her shoulder at Ronan. Damn temptation. Elizabeth focused on what she was doing, though it was a little too late, since as soon as she stepped out the door, she ran into Teyla, who likewise was stepping through the door opposite. The Avarians had freakishly narrow hallways.

The girls stood in tableau for a few minutes, both taking in what they were seeing. Three am, Teyla coming out of Shepard's assigned quarters looking rumpled, Elizabeth doing the same, except from Ronan's quarters. They studied each other for a moment, not quite friends enough to laugh it off and walk away.

"Hello. Teyla," Elizabeth started off coolly, calling into play all her skills at poker-face.

"Hello, Elizabeth. It's a nice night."

"That it is. Just perfect for a walk."

"I can see what you mean. I recall your quarters are on the other side of the compound. That's quite a walk."

Elizabeth fought the urge to smile. It seemed the serene Teyla had claws. "I'd have to say the same for you. Your quarters are only two hallways from mine."

"Lt. Colonel Shepard needed me-..."

"I bet he did."

Teyla cocked her eyebrow and smiled a little. "Dr. Weir, might I inquire what Ronan required of you at these late hours?"

Elizabeth smiled. "No." She then turned and slowly walked away. Though Teyla would have to follow her to go to her own quarters eventually, for the moment she contented herself with walking in the opposite direction. She'd learned something interesting about Dr. Weir tonight, and something told her this wasn't over.

* * *

The first thing Ronan heard when he jolted awake from a rather disturbing dream was the sound of the door opening. He assumed this was from someone entering the room, and thus the reason he'd awoken, but the second he sprang to his feet and grabbed his knife it was clear that there was no one in the room. However, Ronan's senses were telling him that someone had been. Beside him, the bed was warm from another's body, and the scent told him it had been a woman. Try as he did, Ronan could not remember her face, but did recall that they'd had a wild time together. She'd been a wildcat in bed, biting, scratching, and moaning with all the force of a hurricane. It'd been fun.

Suddenly, Ronan felt exposed standing on the bed naked, so he jumped to the floor and pulled on his pants. The room seem invaded somehow; like it wasn't the same room it had been hours ago when he'd first seen it. Even as Ronan wriggled into his leather pants, which though nicely protective of his legs, were a bitch to get into. They also made his butt look good, so he suffered.

Ronan remembered the sound that'd woken him from a dead sleep, and crossed quickly to the door, remembering to grab his knife on the way. With little trepidation, he waved his hand in front of the crystals. The door slid open, revealing another opening door opposite. Shepard stepped through, barely glancing at Ronan before looking both ways down the hall. Ronan did so too. At one end of the hall, Elizabeth was just turning the corner, only the dark curls alluding to who it was as she disappeared. At the other end of the hall, Teyla disappeared as well.

Ronan and Shepard looked at each other for a moment. Then they looked back into their own rooms. Rumpled sheets, clothes thrown everywhere, and drinks laying about. Then they looked into each other's rooms and back at one another.

Ronan was the first to break the silence. "Did you...?"

Shepard shrugged. "Did you...?"

"I don't know. With who?"

"I don't know. I have feeling; this is going to bite us on the ass."

Ronan nodded in agreement, and after one more look down both ends of the hall, he went back into his room. Ronan had no idea who the mystery woman was that he'd slept with last night (he'd had a little, just a little, too much to drink). It was either Elizabeth Weir, or Teyla. Almost all the way to the bed, something slightly under the covers caught his eye. Using two fingers, Ronan gingerly picked up what seemed to be two pieces of string tied to a swatch of fabric. Finally, he realized what it was. This was the "amazing" article of Earth women clothing called a "thong". Shepard had spent an hour some time ago explaining what it was, and why it was "hot".

Now...Ronan thought to himself...this helped matters a bit.

* * *

YAY! Coming up...more complications, and the kind you can't really imagine... 


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry this took too long! I got a little caught up in my JLU fic! As a reward, a nice long chapter for you all!

* * *

_**I remember it well  
There was wet in your hair  
I was stood in the stairs  
And time stopped moving**_

_-_Damien Rice, "I Remember"

* * *

The thing about avoiding someone is that in a close community like Atlantis, it's difficult. There were meetings where Elizabeth and Ronon had to be in together, not to mention they both were needed in the command center a lot. This basically meant that the week following that night was extremely uncomfortable for her.

She had an ally in this mess, and it was a surprise to even her. Teyla proved to want to avoid Sheppard as much as Elizabeth Ronon. The two spent days together, sometimes not talking, sometimes talking. Much to Elizabeth's chagrin, Teyla was friendly and proved to be a worthy confidante. It made her regret some of the things she'd thought of the curvy "alien" before. In fact, Elizabeth liked to think that Teyla was now her closest friend on the base, something nicely ironic.

Things hadn't started out smooth, however. Even traveling through the gate back to Atlantis from the Avarian's homeworld had it's share of awkward encounters. For their part, the men proved to be gentlemen, not mentioning anything about the night before. For their part, the women proved to be demented, sharing the same nervous tendencies that made it obvious that they remembered all too well.

Whilst leaning over to pick up her own bag which had been sent over earlier that morning, before the formal goodbye ceremony (the Avarians were a surprisingly posturing people), Elizabeth had stumbled into Sheppard, who'd been carrying several heavy bags already, sending him into Ronon, who fell at Elizabeth's feet, and Sheppard had been sent careening into Teyla, who'd, for all her grace and poise, and gone down like a rock beneath him.

Beneath a snort of laughter, Elizabeth managed a humble apology. The rest of the people around them did not. They laughed uproariously and managed to make the situation a touch lighter. Teyla was blushing beat red and Sheppard wasn't much better as he scrambled to hit feet, pulling Teyla up with him, only to do so too fast and cause her to stumble into him.

Throughout all this, Ronon lay on the ground and watched Elizabeth. While he found it slightly hard to believe he'd have come on to a "superior officer", he could see why he would have. When she wasn't tense or uncomfortable, she was quite attractive. The lines around her mouth eased, and her brow relaxed, and she seemed years younger. Not to mention that that long and lanky thing was really starting to do it for him. Then, Elizabeth remembered who was at her feet staring up at her. With a grin still on her face she looked down at him, and the look in his eyes made it slowly fade. He reached up a hand, clearly asking for assistance, and with all the bystanders, she couldn't really just walk away.

Reaching down, her long fingers took hold of his rough ones, and though he didn't need it, he gave it a tug as if he really needed the help as he stood up. He was standing too close, but suddenly he didn't care. "Feeling clumsy?"

"I didn't mean to...stumble," Elizabeth gasped out as the earthy scent that was all Ronon drifted into her nose. She felt a flush rising up her neck but she couldn't stop it.

"Next time, let's hope I'm there to catch you before you take down the entire room," Ronon tossed over his shoulder as he turned and started to pick up some of the now strewn everywhere bags. Just kneeling down pulled his shirt taut and Elizabeth was tempted for a moment to touch those strong muscles, ones that even now were shifting under his tawny skin...then she remembered who and what she was, and slipped back into the role that had finally become easy for her.

"Everyone, let's get this stuff put away. I want a staff meeting in my office in thirty. I want find out what's been happening while we've been gone." With that order ringing in the air, Elizabeth walked slowly, deliberately from the room. Behind her, Teyla disentangled herself from Sheppard, and followed.

"Elizabeth, if I might discuss something with you?"

The sound of Teyla catching up to her should have made her stop, but the thought of getting to her office, and far from Ronon was prevalent, so Elizabeth merely slowed so that Teyla could catch up. Together, they continued down the crowded hall.

"What can I do for you Teyla?"

"I was wondering if it would be alright for me to take some time to see my people? It has been several weeks since I'd been to the mainland. I would enjoy the chance."

"Sure. John is heading over there this afternoon for his weekly lesson on combat."

"Oh...never mind. I remember that I have things that I must do here."

Teyla turned to go, but Elizabeth grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "You wouldn't be trying to avoid Sheppard for some reason, now would you?"

"I cannot think of a reason that I would be. Is there some reason you can think of?" Teyla replied with a slight smile. "You were quite flushed in there with Ronon, were you not?"

"No more flushed than you were with John on top of you."

"I...correct," Teyla admitted. The sound of Ronon and Sheppard heading their way echoed down the hallway to the ladies ears, and with a slightly panicked look on their faces, they simultaneously ducked into the empty room just a few feet away. The doors hissed shut and the two ladies crowded the wall just inside the door, in case one of the men glanced in as they walked by. They didn't and within seconds the over-anxiety of the two women made them feel slightly idiotic. And defensive.

Elizabeth whirled around to Teyla, who'd been behind her in their huddling position. Finally, the truth was to come out. "You slept with Sheppard."

"You slept with Ronon."

"We should forget it ever happened."

"And rally against them."

"Deal," they agreed simultaneously and left the room together, walking together in complete synchronicity until they reached Elizabeth's office. An unholy alliance had been forged that day, and everyone benefited from it. With one another as a constant companion at any time they needed to be near Ronon or Sheppard, any possible tension or approaches were headed off. At eating time, the two women sat together, and though it wasn't there, the sign that screamed "STAY AWAY" was clearly acknowledged. In clear defense from the situation, both Sheppard and Ronon were sticking to each other as well.

"I think they're plotting something."

Ronon looked up from his jello at Sheppard's sudden comment. Unlike the women, who'd spent a lot of the last week becoming best friends since females in such close quarters didn't like silence and felt the need to fill it often enough, Sheppard and Ronon didn't feel that compulsion. Other than being around each other seven of the nine hours of the day they were "on duty", they didn't talk much at all. "Who?"

"Elizabeth and Teyla. They've been together all week, talking, laughing, plotting. They're up to something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. I just don't know," Sheppard said solemnly. When McKay and Beckett took the only seats left in the cafeteria, which happened to be at their table, the silence was broken. They'd clearly been having a discussion, and didn't bother filling in Ronon or Sheppard as to what it was about.

"...it has amazing properties! It can't be frozen, and the microbes in it stimulate certain areas of the brain to evoke an aroused reaction! It's not so amazing that there was an increase in birth control." McKay took a break from his lecture to take a bite of mashed potatoes, but before he could speak again, Sheppard cut in.

"What are you two talking about?"

Beckett, that sexy Scot, explained. "I was commenting that after last weeks trip to Avaria, there'd been an increase in birth control requests. I wondered aloud if there'd been something in the air. Rodney thinks it has to do with the special liqueur they had there."

"The Lick Toe Knot stuff? Yeah, I had some," Sheppard commented as he pushed half-finished meat loaf away.

"_Lechto Niote_, and did you get laid?" McKay asked, startling everyone at the table.

Sheppard just grinned. "I'm not answering that."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand scientific objectivity. The point is, I didn't go around imbibing unknown liquids all helter skelter like most of us. I took a sample and when I got back I tested it. It has ingredients and strains of microbes specially designed to arouse the body and stifle the part of the brain responsible for impulse control. It's quite interesting, and also explains why it's a traditional drink at weddings, birthdays, coming of age ceremonies, pre-battle ceremonies, and funerals."

"Funerals?" Ronon asked with the appropriate note of derision.

McKay shrugged. "Who wouldn't want a pick-me-up after that kind of experience?"

"Moving on..." Beckett prompted, before returning his attention to his foods.

"I'm just saying, there's connection. I wonder if the effect is long lasting. I don't think anyone has been imbibing it while on Atlantis but there must be a lasting effect if the increase of birth control is still ongoing." McKay appeared thoughtful. "I'm gonna go run some more tests."

The trio left behind didn't miss his presence. Rodney had never been good at leaving work in the workplace...though since technically he worked in Atlantis, anywhere he went was the workplace, but no one wanted to talk work while eating. Ronon grinned and looked at Sheppard. "Laid?"

"What?"

"Did you?"

"Did you?"

"No comment."

"None here either."

In the back of the room, Teyla and Elizabeth rose to leave. Both Sheppard and Ronon took notice, but didn't move to follow. Probably too desperate looking. Neither would be caught dead chasing after a girl. Let them come to the boys...if they ever did. Yep, there was definitely a flaw in that plan.


	3. Chapter 3

Woohoo! I'm back to update, and I've got some serious plans here ladies and gents! I hope we'll enjoy the sweet chaos that will follow!

* * *

**"I want you here tonight  
I want you here  
'Cause I can't believe what I found  
I want you here tonight  
I want you here  
Nothing is taking me down"**

-Damien Rice, _I Remember

* * *

_

"In less than one week, the Avarian party will be arriving. How are preparations going?"

The meeting was going well. Everyone of importance was there, including all of Sheppard's team, as well as Dr. Beckett and Dr. McKay, as well as Colonel Caldwell. Elizabeth ran the meeting with the smooth aplomb she'd spent years perfecting. Teyla was the only one who noticed that though Elizabeth paced, she didn't go near Ronon's chair.

Teyla ignored that fact and responded to the question. "All the guest quarters have been prepared, and the food is even now being hunted and gathered."

Elizabeth nodded and turned her attention to Caldwell and Sheppard. "What about security?" Something about this question had Rodney chomping at the bit, but like a good little boy he waited his turn...though he did jitter in his seat excitedly.

Sheppard, sitting next to Rodney, resisted the urge to smack the nerdy doctor, and spoke up. "When Lorne's team returns from their current mission, they'll take over Gate security, and the rest of the teams will provide entertainment security."

Beckett posed the question on his mind. "Why do we need so much security?"

Elizabeth explained. "They are on their way to maybe becoming our allies, but we're no fools. They will not be given free reign over Atlantis. We'll keep them to a certain area of the city for least risk."

"Excuse me?" Rodney asked quietly, tired of being ignored, so they ignore him some more.

"The Daedalus will orbit the planet, ready for anything needed," Caldwell offered with a small smile. Ronon didn't like that smile. It was an appreciative smile, totally inappropriate for such a meeting. He felt the urge to hit the older man, but did not. Who said he didn't have self control?

Elizabeth nodded, and ignored the smile on Caldwell's part, the glower on Ronon's, and the googly eyes between Sheppard and Teyla. Personal relationships had no place in this room, her office. Not that she had a personal relationship with Caldwell or Ronon. In fact, neither of them had cause to be sparking at each other the way they were. Damn men.

"Excuse me?" Rodney asked louder, and Elizabeth had no reason to ignore him anymore. Sometimes Rodney was irritating, sometimes amusing. Guess what time this one was...

"Yes, Rodney?" She asked with a sigh, seating herself behind her desk and watching as the Doctor stood and placed small packets of papers in front of everyone in the room.

"I have some concerns about that wine they had everyone drinking. I don't think it should be allowed into Atlantis."

Sheppard was surprised. "Why? It was good."

"Yes, a little too good," Rodney said exasperated with a slight teacher disdain in it. Rodney talked to almost everyone like they were children to his teacher. If he'd ever been a teacher, God help the children he'd taught. "In large doses, _Lechto Niote_ causes uncontrollable behavior, increased fertility, and blackouts."

Ronon grinned. "Like...alcohol usually does?"

Rodney glared. "Yes, but to greater extremes. I've been testing it, and if introduced into Atlantis, I doubt any security measures would be able to keep the Avarians anywhere. It's also highly addictive."

Elizabeth sighed. This explained those late night cravings she'd been having. Except, it wasn't wine she was craving. It was hot warrior flesh between her...wait. Where was she? "Rodney, that drink is a tradition for them. We can't refuse to allow them to bring it here."

"But-..."

Elizabeth put up a hand. "However...we can not drink it. Maybe we have a traditional drink ourselves? When they start to hand out the bottles, like they did on their own planet, security will take them, and we'll hand out our own drinks, explain that it's a tradition of our own. That should alleviate any problems to be caused."

Dr. Beckett smiled. "We have another problem. I'm out of contraceptives."

Elizabeth gaped, as did everyone else in the room. "Excuse me?"

Carson grinned sheepishly. "Completely. None."

"How is that possible?" Caldwell asked.

"As it is, 100 of the females in the City have come and gotten some. We were never prepared for that."

Suddenly, both Teyla and Elizabeth couldn't find anywhere to look. It was a wonder they didn't start whistling and edging out of the room. Rodney helped them though, and for once Elizabeth was happy he had a big mouth.

"I can explain that. Some of the members that went to Avaria brought back bottles of _Lechto Niote_, and it's begun to make the rounds in Atlantis. That's why there must not be anymore allowed into the general populace! We'd become slaves to the Avarians!"

Elizabeth ignored Rodney's screech and turned to Caldwell. "If you have any...contraceptives...you can spare, we'd appreciate it."

Caldwell, blushing, nodded. "Sure."

Elizabeth, not a little peachy herself, nodded. "Meeting dismissed."

Elizabeth remained seated whilst everyone filed out. Sheppard stayed behind to discuss something with her, and she had an idea as to what it'd be. "About security..."

Elizabeth put her hand up to quiet him. "Your team will be casually clothed and moving in the crowd."

"How many Avarians are coming?"

"Exactly thirty. Teyla's people are going to be there as well, and some of the personnel will be given time off to enjoy the party as well. During the day, we'll negotiate, at night, we'll party."

Sheppard grinned. "Sounds fun."

Elizabeth watched as he too left, and looked at her empty office. "It always does until someone loses an eye."

* * *

"Hey, Teyla!" Ronon called after his friend, who'd almost ran as soon as they'd exited the Control Room. This was the first time in a week she'd been without Elizabeth, and he without Sheppard, and he had an important question to ask. 

"Yes, Ronon?" She replied with a smile, serene and calm despite having hurried along the hallway at a brisk pace for ten minutes.

"Do you know what this is?" Ronon asked, pulling the garment he'd found on his floor out of his pocket, where he'd taken to carrying it. Yes, icky, but damn...it comforted him.

Teyla regarded the stringed clothe with vague confusion. She didn't touch it, but she did study it from various angles. "It appears to be a hair tie. You just purchased it?"

Ronon grinned. "You could say that. Thanks anyway."

Teyla watched as Ronon trotted off with a grin she'd never seen before on his face. As soon as possible, she'd go talk to Elizabeth. Something told her that Ronon knew something he hadn't before, and Elizabeth wasn't going to be happy.


	4. Chapter 4

YAY! New chappie. Okay, to explain. I've just got a new job, and this keeps me 1) busy and 2) tired during the week. I'll have to be doing all my updates on the weekends now. I promise I'll try to have at least one update every weekend! I PROMISE! Feel free to poke.

A/N! I've been nominated for a Stargate Fan Award for one of my Ronon/Elizabeth stories! YAY! You like me! YOU REALLY LIKE ME!

* * *

**_"I remember it well  
Taxied out of a storm  
To watch you perform  
And my ships were sailing"_**

**_-_**Damien Rice, _I Remember

* * *

_

Elizabeth gaped. "He showed you what?"

Teyla shrugged. "It looked like a hair tie. It had a small triangle of brown cloth, then two strings becoming one."

Elizabeth wondered what that could be, then shrugged it off. Probably wasn't important. "I have to go talk to Rodney. He just called with some urgent news. Would you like to come?"

Teyla shrugged and together they left Elizabeth's office. On the way down to the medlab, Teyla posed a question she'd been wondering about for some time. "Why do you seem to be avoiding both Ronon and Colonel Caldwell."

Elizabeth blushed. "Several weeks ago, Colonel Caldwell asked me to have dinner with him."

"So?"

"On Earth, that's considered a romantic overture."

"Ah. You have feelings for Ronon, so you couldn't take him up on it."

"Teyla! I do not have feelings for Ronon."

"Then why did you slee-"

Elizabeth poked Teyla. Hard. "We're not talking about that."

"Okay."

They were silent for a few minutes, still walking, both thinking. Then it dawned on Elizabeth, and in the middle of the corridor, she stopped, blushed, and burst out laughing.

Teyla looked at her with concern. "What's funny?"

"Umm...I just realized what Ronon was showing you."

"What?"

"It was...my...umm...undergarment. I couldn't find it...that night...so I left it. He obviously found it."

Teyla had a wrinkled forehead, scrunchy nose thing going on, meaning she didn't understand. "How was that your undergarment?"

"Well...see...there's so little of it, that when wearing thin clothes that are tight, there are no panty lines."

"Ah. I don't wear undergarments when I wear tight clothes."

"No wonder the men all have hard-ons for you."

"Hard-ons?"

"Never mind."

Thankfully, since Elizabeth could be no redder from blushing more, and she didn't want to tempt it by explaining what the slang "hard-on" meant to Teyla, they'd arrived at Carson's lab. Inside, there was a bustle of activity.

Dr. Carson Beckett, head of all things medical on Atlantis, immediately rushed over and pulled Elizabeth into his office, a rarely used space, but it had a door that could be closed so he'd chosen that. Teyla followed with an amused look.

"Dr. Weir, we have a problem," Carson said as soon as the door shut, his Scottish accent seriously thick with stress.

"What kind of problem?"

"I've been doing some calculations and measurements on the subject we spoke of this afternoon. In normal circumstances, 1 in 10 sexual encounters results in pregnancy. With the added virility of the Avarian drink, it increases to 1 in 5. There were exactly five women on the Avarian mission. By ratio alone, if all of you engaged in sex, then one of is pregnant."

Elizabeth nodded and thought for a moment, exchanging a slightly worried look with Teyla. "How soon can the tests be run?"

"Depending on when each woman's monthlies are, we can know now. I can take blood today, and know by tomorrow."

"Okay. I'll call the women to my office and we'll talk. After, I'll send them to you." Carson nodded and started to leave the room. "Oh, and Carson? We keep this between the six of us for now. I don't even want you telling Dr. McKay. Understood?"

Carson nodded. "I wouldn't dream of breaking patient/doctor confidentiality."

"I'm sure, but you do have a knack for well-placed hints. I don't want any hints getting around, got it?"

Carson nodded again, and stood aside to let Teyla and Elizabeth pass. As soon as they were gone, he tapped in a sequence into the computer and waited for McKay to answer.

"What?"

"Uh, Rodney? Remember that thing I just told you? Forget it. Everything. Instantly."

"About the pregnancy? Why?"

"Shhhh! NOT EVEN THE WORD! Or Dr. Weir is gonna have my head!"

"Okay, sheesh...so...we on for Parcheesi or what?"

* * *

Elizabeth's office was full of women, a sight never really seen. Usually it was filled with all men, excusing Teyla and herself. Despite advances made on Earth, their's was still a mainly patriarchic society.

Elizabeth looked at the four women before her, and knew that other than Teyla, they had no idea why they were here. It was her duty, as leader, to not only tell them, but to reassure them and make it clear that no matter what, nothing about their jobs had to change, nor their living status.

"Before I explain why I've called you all here, I first want to say that no matter what answers are given to the questions I have to ask, I will not hold anything said against any of you. What's best in this situation is honesty. That said, Dr. Beckett tells me that the _Lechto Niote_ we imbibed on our first-contact mission with the Avarians, very likely resulted in someone in this room being pregnant. If you engaged in sexual relations, that is." Elizabeth let that sink in, before continuing. "That includes myself, so I can't really hold it against anyone. What needs to be done, is the test given, so we know who it is."

Amanda Cole raised her hand cautiously. "And if one of us is? What happens? Do we get sent back to Earth?"

Elizabeth walked around her desk, leaning against it in a gesture of confidence. "Only if you choose. Any off world duties will be suspended, so you'll likely be stuck on Atlantis for the next nine months, but I will not be sending anyone back to Earth for a medical condition like this. There will have to be certain things changed around here, but mostly I'll leave a lot of the decisions to whomsoever has this...issue."

The three women nodded, still staring intently at Elizabeth. In that moment, their lives and their faith was placed in her, and for the first time she realized that she was their leader. Completely. Not just professionally, as she'd been treating it this past year, but completely. If she told them, they would do whatever she said. It was an ego-boost, and a confidence-basher. How could she ever hope to live up to their expectations, let alone that of their child? Or was her child?

Elizabeth pushed that thought away, and smiled comfortingly. "Now that that's taken care of, I'd ask that you go see Dr. Beckett. He's prepared the tests, and is just waiting for you to arrive. Confidentiality is promised, so no worries about the news leaking out."

The women nodded, and except for Teyla, they filed out like obedient little soldiers. Teyla watched them apathetically before turning back to Elizabeth. "And you?"

"And me what?"

"You have to get tested too."

"Don't remind me. Seriously, a mother at 39? I doubt it. I'm too old. You need to be worried. You're young and fertile." Elizabeth teased.

"True...but Ronon does look like the kind of man with very strong virility."

"Don't remind me."

* * *

Woohoo! Anyways. Next chapter...leaks. LOTS of leaks. And confrontations. Lots of stuff happening. Finally, Elizabeth and Ronon get some alone time. Finally, Teyla and John get alone time. Finally, Carson and Rodney get alone time. Wait...does that last couple belong in there? 


	5. Chapter 5

Woot woot. New chapter. BIG chapter. Read with caution.

PS...this is for Marianne...and her wonderful ROZ stories...which she knows I adore...(hint, hint) GO READ!(/hint, hint)

* * *

_**"I remember it well  
I was stood in your line  
And your mouth, your mouth, your mind..."**_

-Damien Rice, _I Remember

* * *

_

The room is dark, but they don't mind. In the dark, they can pretend they should be doing this. They can pretend that the only thing that mattered, the only thing that existed was here and now.

Clothes disappeared into the shadows, but she didn't feel naked. His hands were all over her, and she didn't feel vulnerable. He was strong and he could break her with little effort, yet he moved with only tenderness. From a warrior like him, it was unexpected. She'd expected roughness, speed, pain mixed with pleasure. She'd slightly anticipated it. She'd more than slightly fantasized of it. Instead, it was his gentleness that was her undoing.

He lowered her to the bed, sliding his callused from sparring hands down her sides, not touching anything considered "intimate" but making her shiver and bite her lip all the same. There's a vague knocking noise she thinks, and hopes, are his shoes. He slides in beside her, licking at her neck with a tongue that can only be described as "able", and there's another thump. Could it be her heart? Beating in time with his, louder than before?

No. It's the door.

* * *

Elizabeth wakes up and nearly screams in frustration. For the past two days, since they'd gotten back from Avaria, she'd had these dreams. They weren't really dreams, but memories. Guess who was her co-star in them? None other than that dread-locked hunk of sweating, muscled, beautiful ass-ed man.

Someone knocks at the door again. Not knocking, more banging. Elizabeth has a feeling that they'd been doing it a while. She slides from her large bed, a perk of being allowed to choose your quarters and pads over to the door. She gives no thought to grabbing a robe or anything to cover her body, since she long ago forgot about the nuances of being a woman in this place. More often, in her mind at least, Elizabeth was "leader" and not woman.

As she opened the door to Ronon Dex, she realized that this was a big oversight. Naturally, opening the door to your dream man (literally) in only a large t-shirt and...dear lord...granny panties...wouldn't happen to HER! But it did. Alas.

Elizabeth, ever the poker-faced diplomat, coolly faced the situation, even if her knees did jerk a little. "Ronon? Is there something I can help you with?" Though her words were polite, the tone was clearly, "WTF are you doing at my door at 2 am?"

Ronon held something up in his hand, and at first Elizabeth couldn't tell what it was. She was cautionary of touching him, the memory of what those hands could do still vivid in her mind, but she worked past it and slowly pulled at what he held and was offering. He had his hand clenched so just tugging did nothing. Finally she pulled it out of his hand, bringing it close to her side without looking. "Is that all?"

Ronon just cocked his head and watched her. Elizabeth sighed and looked down, finally realized just what she had in her hand. Without control, a blush started in her chest, and raced up her pace. She thanked the darkness and stepped farther into it, so as not to completely reveal her humiliation.

Finally, he speaks, and in the late hour, it rumbles out of him and into her room, echoing past her and back at him and into the hall. Elizabeth realizes as he speaks just how this would look to a passerby.

"They're yours?"

Elizabeth looks at him in the dark. He steps into the room, the door shutting behind him and it occurs to her that's he's the first visitor to step inside these quarters of her's. It's ironic, that. She's become friends with many people on Atlantis, close friends in the case of Sheppard's alpha team. Ronon was the only one on this base she could ever barely have a conversation with. From the very first day, she'd stuttered and flushed, and lost all control of what had formerly been great conversational skills. Finally, the only thing she could think to do, to retain what little face she had left, she'd avoided him. Even before the Avarian incident, she'd only seen him in team gatherings. Places where she couldn't act like a bashful schoolgirl she'd been years ago. Now here he was, in a place not even Sheppard had been, doing things she'd never even imagined he'd do. Okay...maybe she'd imagined, but she'd never admit it. In fact, what was she thinking about again?

Ronon steps closer and any thought Elizabeth might have been thinking about forgetting to think about went right out the window. Somehow, just being close to him did that. "They're yours." This time, not a question, a statement. A fact.

She nods anyways. She doesn't want to speak, almost afraid that she'd say something she shouldn't say, couldn't say. She was in charge here and thoughts like those that take place on the floor, in the shower, in her office, on her desk, and most often in her bed, were the kind that could severely damage her reputation if ever acted out.

Ronon nodded too, still stepping closer, forcing her back until she bumps into the small couch she has. Elizabeth wraps her hands around the top of it, keeping her hands behind her lest she do something...gasp...naughty.

Ronon sighed. "This changes things."

Elizabeth crinkles her forehead in confusion and asks, "How so?"

"We've mated. We will mate again."

Elizabeth joked on the air and if possible turned redder. "I doubt it."

Ronon smiled. "Why?"

"I am your superior. No, I am your superior's superior. This would be highly inappropriate. Not only would it undermine any authority I've garnered here, it would place both of us at risk for harassment and any number of issues."

Ronon just looked at her.

Elizabeth rushed on. "Not only that, we're not well-matched. I fight with words, you fight with...knives. I like salads, you like...all food in every form. I like to read, you like...what the hell do you like to do? Wait, what are you doing?" Elizabeth sidestepped the couch as Ronon continued to stalk her. Oh yeah, good work. He was stalking her. Like a hunter.

"I'm going to kiss you."

Elizabeth froze as she finally became trapped between her desk and her bookcase. "Why?"

"Because I can't remember doing it before."

"Oh." Elizabeth replied as if it made the most sense in the world.

Ronon gently wrapped his hand in her short dark hair, and pulled her out of the small alcove she'd become trapped in. She didn't resist. She couldn't.

So Ronon kissed her. Ronon Dex kissed Elizabeth Weir. For an instant, it all seemed so magical. Whenever a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. When Ronon kissed Elizabeth, it was more like a demon got its horns, but it was much more delightful.

* * *

_**(TO BE CONTINUED)...**_

* * *

Oops...did I cliffhang? 


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry this update took so long. Work is a bitch. Oops. Wonder if I have to up the rating for saying bitch? Oops. Said it again.

* * *

_"I want you here tonight  
I want you here  
'Cause I can't believe what I found  
I want you here tonight  
I want you here  
Nothing is taking me down, down, down..._

Except you my love. Except you my love..."

**-Damien Rice, _I Remember_**

* * *

Elizabeth barely felt Ronon's lips touch her before she ducked and stepped around him. "Don't do that."

Ronon smiled and turned to follow her, his hunter eyes easily and unnaturally following her movements well in the dark. "Do what?"

"Kiss me. Touch me. Affect me."

"Why would I stop doing that? I enjoy it."

Elizabeth bared her teeth. "Well, so what? Stop it anyways."

Ronon smiled, his grin white and predatory in the dark. The whiteness was courtesy of Dr. Beckett (seven years of not brushing your teeth was vaguely disgusting), but the predator-ness was all Ronon.

Elizabeth suddenly had an idea. "Wow. Look what you did to my wall."

Ronon turned to look, and upon seeing nothing, realized he'd been tricked. He turned to look for Elizabeth, but the swishing of the doors already told him what his senses had alerted him to seconds ago. She was gone. Ran. Escaped. Panicked. Easy to hunt.

* * *

Across Atlantis, in the kitchen area of the cafeteria, Sheppard and Teyla sat over cups of coffee and freshly made chocolate chip cookies. They'd both been drawn here by the cookies, but the late hour meant they'd been the only ones. Slight awkwardness made the atmosphere tense, though Teyla's outward serenity as usual let nothing revealed. Sheppard, on the other hand, twitched, blushed, and glared, all on a cycle of seconds. Finally, he spoke.

"So...we slept together."

Teyla immediately nodded. "That we did, Colonel."

John nodded. "Was I any good?"

"You were considerably intoxicated."

"Is that a no?"

"That is a no."

Silence.

"Can I try again?"

"That you may, Colonel."

"Now?"

"I'm eating a cookie right now."

"We can bring the cookie."

Teyla seemed stunned for a moment, but then nodded. "That is agreeable, Colonel Sheppard."

Together they rose, making for the door with their cookies. With a laugh, Sheppard slung his arm around Teyla's shoulder, muttering as he did. "You can call me John."

* * *

Ronon tracked Elizabeth all the way through Atlantis. She'd stopped briefly in her office to get her headset (only tellable because of the small dust outline on her desk that was now empty), then hurried out again. She was heading upward, towards the central spire of Atlantis, one of the few places that were rarely used. Ronon didn't know why she'd be headed up there. Of course, he rarely knew what she was thinking. Mayhaps that was part of her charm? With his skills and training, it was often idle course for him to use people's body movements against them, reading their intentions and sometimes their minds often before even they realized what they were doing.

For instance, yesterday's staff meeting. Without speaking, and by studying the people in said meeting, Ronon knew that Colonel Caldwell was attracted to Dr. Weir, Sheppard and Teyla were exceedingly attracted to each other, and that Dr. McKay had a slight attraction for Colonel Sheppard (only detectable by the crossing of his legs toward Sheppard, and the vague inclination of his head).

However, Ronon had never been able to read Dr. Weir. Elizabeth. She was always serene, not moving unless necessary, always taking her time with her words. She hid herself amongst her stillness and silence. Hid her feelings and needs. None of the others noticed it, but she did. Those secrets made him want to search her out. Find her. He himself had hid himself, physically, emotionally, for seven years. Now that he was opening himself, he wanted someone to share it with. Sheppard, while a good friend, was still a friend, and one he'd known only months. Elizabeth. Ronon felt like he'd known her forever.

So Ronon followed her to the heights of the city. For some reason, each step he took seemed like a bigger one. Like he was making a commitment he didn't anticipate. One that he wouldn't regret. One that might never be fulfilled, but the promises were laid out. The ball, as they say, is in Elizabeth's court.

At the top of a long flight of stairs, the upper most balcony on Atlantis, is where Elizabeth was found. She was staring into the horizon, deep in thought, but fundamentally aware that he was there.

Ronon didn't approach her. As the sun slowly started it's trek in the day sky, he stayed in the shadows and watched. Surprisingly, when she spoke, he jumped. For once, he'd been anticipating she'd be silent. As usual, he was wrong about her.

"I was hoping, in some part of me, that you'd give up and go back to your room. I have no luck, and another small part of me is glad." She pauses and shakes her head, sending her brown curls shaking about her head, a small halo formed by the growing sun rays. "What happened on our recent mission was...unexpected." She turns to look at Ronon, and he steps out of the shadows, bringing himself within reach on the small balcony. "Unexpected, but not unwanted. I'm not used to my wants being fulfilled, not here. I've seen myself as the impeachable leader here for too long. I forgot that part of me was human. Was a woman."

Ronon, who'd long ago forgotten how to be human and was slowly learning again, gently took her hand. Things would be said. Things needed to be said. For the first time, though, silence would do. Today, the Avarians would arrive and Elizabeth had things to do. He would give her time. They had all the time in the world...so to speak.

* * *

Short chapter, but HEY! Only a few chapters left. They can't all be six pages long. 


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry for the long delay in getting this. I had to send my computer in for repairs though it turns out it wasn't broken and I wasted a lot of my money.

Anyways...

* * *

_**Come all ye lost  
Dive into moss  
I hope that my sanity covers the cost  
To remove the stain of my love  
Paper maché**_  
-Damien Rice,_ I Remember_

* * *

"You're younger than me."

Ronon looked at Elizabeth in confusion at her sudden statement as they walked down to the Gateroom to wait the arrival of the Avarians. "So?"

"I never thought I'd be one of those women."

"What women?"

"Cradle robbers."

"You rob cradles?"

"Well, not literally."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Younger men. I never thought I'd be..." Here, Elizabeth hesitated. She wasn't sure how to describe her "relationship" with Ronon. They weren't dating, they weren't having sex, they weren't even kissing, but they were "together". "...with younger men."

Ronon grinned. "Colonel Sheppard told me that it is considered fashionable to do so on Earth."

"Only if you're rich and famous. Otherwise, cradle-robber."

"I don't find the idea of you robbing my cradle to be remotely unpleasant."

Elizabeth burst out laughing, garnering several glances from the others as she and Ronon joined them near the stairs. "When will the Avarians arrive?"

John smiled at the sight of his commander so happy for once. More often than not, she looked wan and tired. Making sure Atlantis and its entire people were safe and happy as they can be was more taxing than anyone wanted to admit. "Any minute. We just got a communiqué from Lorne saying he was about to dial up."

Elizabeth nodded, and everyone quickly realigned themselves on the stairs. It was an unconscious thing, a setting of the stage. Elizabeth above the rest, and then John and usually Rodney, and below them Dr. Beckett, Ronon, and Teyla. However, today, Ronon displaced Rodney, and took the stair below and to the right of Elizabeth. Needless to say, everyone noticed and shuffled it back to talk about later.

Elizabeth smiled as Ronon glared at Colonel Sheppard, daring him to say something. Finally, the non-verbal pissing match was over and they unspokenly agreed to share the step beneath Elizabeth, and by extension, Elizabeth.

"Colonel Sheppard, are the security teams in place?"

John nodded. "They're at the four major entrances to the rest of the city. The Avarians should be limited to the section their quarters are in and the main parts of Atlantis. Why all the distrust? They say they're happy to be our allies."

Elizabeth smiled a bit, that peculiar smile that tells everyone that she's seeing something they're not. "They're quite eager to be our allies. I've just got a feeling on this one."

Finally, the gate started to dial up, and everyone instinctively stiffened. Elizabeth tried to look leader-like, but not too intimidating. Ronon actually managed to look intimidating, but not leader-like (read SOLDIER). Teyla, Rodney, and Beckett just looked like themselves, leaving the posturing to those above them. John just tried to keep his eyes of Teyla's ass (though if Ronon's snort says anything, he wasn't doing a good job).

Finally, Lorne and his team stepped through the gate, immediately moving to the side to allow the Avarians the "grand view" (also taking another step in the large dramatic plan of introduction to Atlantis that had somehow been formed unconsciously). Elizabeth smiled, and stepped down a step, now firmly between the two pillars of John and Ronon (both a visual intimidation and a security measure), drawing the Avarians' attention to her. With a smile, she gestured around the cavernous room. "Welcome to Atlantis."

* * *

The meet and greet went off without a hitch. Along with Colonel Sheppard's team, Dr. Weir gave a tour of the main city, ending with a lunch in the cafeteria. Since the Avarians were human, there were no special food preparations to be had, and the lunch was rather casual and relaxed. Most people managed to ignore that Ronon sat next to Elizabeth, inordinately close. The Avarians took notice, and with significant glances at one another, did not comment.

When Elizabeth rose to go see Dr. Beckett, who had asked her and Teyla to join him in the medical lab when they were finished, the Avarians watched. Ronon and John saw, but weren't sure what to make of it. They each made a note to tell Elizabeth later, and forgot about it.

Elsewhere, Elizabeth and Teyla were nervously making their way down to the medical lab. Several times one or both would stop, shake her head, then walk on. Finally, Teyla broke the silence.

"You don't think..."

"No. I don't think we're..."

"Are you sure, because that would be..."

"Interesting, to say the least," Elizabeth replied with a tight smile. Together, with a smile of friendship between them, they stepped into Dr. Beckett's office and shut the door.

* * *

Short, I know, but another chapter tomorrow... 


	8. Chapter 8

So, by my count, we're now on the third to last chapter, or second to last, depending on whether or not I decide to do an epilogue...

* * *

**_Come all ye reborn  
Blow off my horn  
I'm driving real hard  
This is love, this is porn  
God will forgive me  
But I, I whip myself with scorn, scorn_  
**-Damien Rice, _I Remember

* * *

_

Later they'll say this day was one of the longest in Atlantis most of the crew had ever experienced. For those involved, it passed with seeming great speed. It started as most days do, slowly. The graveyard shift was dragging its feet in concluding the assignments they'd drawn, whilst waiting for the first day shift to arrive. The first day shift was briskly eating breakfast and chatting about the latest missions/the latest Zelenka/McKay fight, and/or the news about Ronon and Dr. Weir's new "closeness", though truthfully people were more interested in what Colonel Caldwell would think of it...

Elizabeth wasn't much concerned with what people were saying. She was deep in her own thoughts, a condition that was well-known to most as a time when it wasn't good to bother her. Ronon sat across from her, next to Sheppard, and together they watched as she brooded over her pancakes.

Ronon nudged Sheppard. Sheppard nudged Ronon. Ronon nudged Sheppard again.

"What?"

Ronon shrugged. "Think she'd notice if I took her pancakes."

"No."

Slowly, so as not to spook, Ronon reached across the table. Elizabeth, seemingly not paying attention, smacked the back of his hand with her fork (hard), and proceeded to fuss with it some more.

Rubbing the slightly red and sore streaks where the tongs hit his hand, Ronon elbowed Sheppard in the side. "She noticed."

"I noticed," he replied with a grin.

Silently, they finished their food. It seemed at one point that Teyla would join them; however at the last second she veered away and joined Lieutenant Lorne at his table. That made Sheppard broody. By extension, all alone in his jovial mood, Ronon pretended to be brooding too, though since it was Ronon, this was all mental for him, since most emotions on him seem liked blank-face to others. Only someone skilled in studying Ronon's face would notice the differences small tensions in certain parts and what they meant for his mood.

After thirty minutes of this, one broody, two broody, and the third just-pretending, company, the trio rose and started towards the gateroom, where they were meeting the Avarians in order to take them on a trip to one of the few inhabitable, that is non-Wraith targeted (seemingly) planets they knew of. It was to be a vacation of sorts. A chance for the leaders of both worlds/encampments to get to know each other without the pressures such responsibilities entailed. It was also a chance for the Atlantians to observe the Avarians in an environment that didn't so easily give opportunity for espionage.

Along with Ronon, Sheppard, McKay, and Teyla, Elizabeth would escort five of the Avarians to this planet. There would be hourly contact with Atlantis, as well as a perimeter patrol every three hours. Recent experiences had made them wary of strangers and unfamiliar territory. It'd taken a lot of bead experiences to drum into the Earth people that trust was not always a good thing in the Pegasus Galaxy.

The gateroom slowly got louder as people came to their shifts, and the Avarians arrived. Finally, ten minutes late, Rodney arrived (shouting about what an idiot Zelenka was) (Zelenka just stood in the background looking as if he wanted to throw something). With a smug grin, Rodney asked, "Why are we just standing around?" And sometimes it took all the effort every member standing there had to not smack the shit out of him.

Elizabeth smiled bracingly though, and led everyone to the now open wormhole and gestured for them to enter. With a small wave to Colonel Caldwell (to who everyone's displeasure was in charge while she was gone), she followed. The trip to paradise was relatively smooth, despite what the proverbs say. After all, traveling as a disintegrated atom cluster wasn't really that much of a hardship.

Thanks to an advance team that'd arrived last night and left this morning, a perimeter and camp had already been established. It was completely secure from the few wild animals about and not even that far from Atlantis in case for some reason the gate became non-functional. In the end, this would both be bad and good for mission and the people itself. You see, the Avarians were not the good Samaritans they appeared to be. Nowhere near it. In exchange for not attacking and harvesting them, the Avarians "tagged" worlds just ripe for the plucking. Unfortunately, this has just been expanded to include Atlantis, which would no doubt be a pleasant surprise to the Wraith who thought Atlantis was destroyed. However, the beacon that would alert the Wraith hadn't been activated yet. The Avarians wanted something first.

* * *

The morning went pleasantly enough. After trading stories of the various customs amongst their people, Teyla's, Earth, and Avar, since Ronon rarely said anything about Sateda, the group broke for breakfast, then went on an impromptu hike. Throughout it all, Ronon stayed near or at Elizabeth's side, an odd behavior in the first place, made worse from the fact that he glared or looked menacing at anyone who ventured near. What's worse, Elizabeth indulged him, even patting him on the shoulder and one particular hostile look at Rodney. 

It was only as the sun crested in the sky, which for those not up on romance novel speak, means noon, that the real trouble began. They were scheduled for a dial-up communication with Atlantis, but as Sheppard made to go to the DHD, the Avarians stood.

Elizabeth slowly stood, as well. "Is something wrong?"

The leader, a small beady-eyed man named Tavis, nodded. "I'm afraid so." Then he shot Dr. Weir in the arm. It wasn't a bullet, like a metal projectile type of thing; it was almost energy, but not quite. It didn't sear her arm, but punctured it like a regular gun, spurting blood all over the few people who remained seated near her. Immediately, Ronon was at his feet, in front of Elizabeth and doing his best to keep her upright at the same time. As one, Teyla shifted into a fighting position and Sheppard drew his gun. Rodney fought not to scream like a girl.

"What are you doing?" Sheppard asked, stepping closer, eyeing the small barely palm-sized weapon that Tavis had used.

"We're creating a hostage situation."

"Why?" Sheppard replied with one of his characteristic "you're an idiot" looks.

"In order to secure your zero point module."

Here was where Rodney decided to speak up. "Why? You don't have an Ancient technology."

Tavis smiled. "That you could see. With the zero point module, we will no longer be pawns to the Wraith, and will be free."

Rodney glared. "What technology do you have?"

Tavis smiled broader. "We have an Ancient warship."

"So?"

Tavis didn't smile. "So, we'll be able to break free."

"We have two warships and we're still no match for the Wraith."

"Ah, but are they Ancient warships?"

"One of them is."

"And you're still not able to fight the Wraith off?"

Sheppard shook his head. "We can hold our own, but the Wraith are too many. Doing this won't help you."

"I don't believe that. Our books tell us that the Ancients could hold them off in this ship, so we can too!"

"What does shooting Dr. Weir have to do with that?" Ronon asked, not growling.

"We will kill her if Atlantis doesn't hand over the zero point module."

"Here's a conundrum for you," Rodney said snarkily, "If we take out the zero point module, how are they supposed to dial here to give it to you?"

Tavis was confused.

Rodney continued. "And if we all go there to get it, once we removed it, we can't dial you home."

Tavis was more confused. They hadn't really thought that far. Most cultures that had zero point modules didn't have technology with which to use them.

"We'll figure it out! Dial Atlantis, Colonel John Sheppard, and tell them the situation. Make it clear that we are serious, and also, if you could...put down the weapons." In sync, the other four Avarians drew similar weapons and point them at the two armed, one injured, and two unarmed (though one was dangerous) group.

"No, John!" Elizabeth called from where she was clutching at the broad and leather-clad back of her slightly overly muscular but still delectable subordinate...sorry...slipped into romance novel mode again..."We do not negotiate."

Tavis was shocked. "I will kill you."

"That may be, but you will not kill everyone I've sworn to protect on Atlantis. Even if I don't live, that ZPM will keep them alive and secure. I won't betray them."

"Even if it means you and everyone hear dies?"

Sheppard stepped forward. "Even if."

Teyla and Ronon intoned their own agreement, and Rodney gave a shaky nod. Elizabeth smiled. "Even if."

Tavis grit his teeth. "Fine, we'll dial Atlantis ourselves."

Behind him, one of his minions stepped forward. "We...don't know the address."

Tavis leaned back and sans loudness replied, "How is that possible?"

Minion replied, "On Avar, Lieutenant Lorne dialed the gate, and we've never seen Atlantis dialed."

Tavis resisted the urge to scream, barely. "Fine. Then we'll stay here until someone from Atlantis calls here, then I will negotiate this situation, since your leader is too obstinate to realize her own good."

The Atlantians were fine with this, of course, because it was decided that if close enough, instead of dialing in to check on an AWOL mission, the Orion would travel within communications distance and seek to contact that way. All of which meant that only those of them there with the radios on their jackets would be able to hear them, and since it was also standard practice for the team to wear cordless ear microphones and receivers, that the Avarians wouldn't even realize that contact had been made. Some of the greatest minds on Earth came up with this, and it was one of the best ideas yet. This way, if taken, the takers couldn't get the gate address for Atlantis which, even with the Stargate protective field/barrier, was vulnerable to some attacks.

Ronon slowly lowered Elizabeth to a sitting position, and without hesitation ripped the sleeve of her red blouse away from the seam. The wound was pinpoint and angry looking. With a muttered Satedan oath, he slowly started to tend to it, shooing McKay away when he tried to help. Ronon felt this was his job, since he'd allowed this to happen.

"It wasn't your fault."

Ronon didn't look her in the eyes. "It is."

"It's not. If anything, it's John's."

Ronon smirked. "Why do you say that?"

"He's my head of security. He should have seen this coming."

"Hey!"

Ronon ignored Sheppard's outburst. "You are my responsibility."

"When did we decide this?"

"The night we spent together decided it."

"I thought we were going to ignore that."

"I thought you were going to tell me you thought you were pregnant with my child, but we all get little surprises, now don't we?"

Elizabeth was shocked. Ronon. Making a joke. About something like this! "How did you know?"

"There are no secrets on Atlantis. So...is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"That you might be..."

"That I might be...yes. It's true."

"Are you?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Cause I'm involved."

Elizabeth pondered that. "How involved?"

"I like you."

That made her smile. "You like me?"

"I do. It was...difficult, at first. I do, though."

"Awwww..."

They both decided to ignore Sheppard on that one.

"I like you, too, if you must know."

"So?"

"So..."

"Are you?"

"That depends on your way of thinking."

"Huh?"

"Here comes Tavis."

The duo turned to watch as Tavis stormed over from the other side of the camp, the side closest to the Stargate. "Why haven't your people contacted us?"

Elizabeth smiled. "I have no idea."

"You're lying."

"Probably. Ready to give up?"

"No. If they do not contact us within the next hour, we will simply return to Avar, and proceed from there." Tavis smiled an evil smile. "I'm sure you'll find our containment cells much more comfortable. If Atlantis doesn't respond to our efforts there, we'll simply give you to the Wraith. I'm sure they'll agree to amnesty for a few more years in return for knowledge of Atlantis, and it's greatest heroes."

"Would you really condemn a thousand people to that fate, even knowing that you won't get what you want?"

Tavis considered it for a second. "In a completely petty and selfish way? Yes. Yes I would."

Luckily, at that point, the cavalry arrived.

* * *

Woot woot... 

Next chapter...last OFFICIAL chapter...all answers are revealed...


	9. Chapter 9

Okay, upon thinking on it...I've decided this is the final chapter. And I'm making it good, so I think we'll be happy.

And on the night of the reawakening of the Gates, and our love for them...I give you my finale. Enjoy.

PS I dedicate this to Eileen. Who angers me. I love thee anyways. She puts up with all my creative fits/anger/contempt/sarcasm/modesty without much of a peep...which sometimes pisses me off more...This one...is for you...for trying to see ROZ where sometimes there is none.

* * *

_I wanna hear what you have to say about me  
Hear if you're gonna live without me  
I wanna hear what you want  
I remember december  
And I wanna hear what you have to say about me  
Hear if you're gonna live without me  
I wanna hear what you want  
What the hell do you want?  
_-**Damien Rice,** I Remember

* * *

The cavalry, such as it was, did arrive, though honestly they didn't make the situation that much better. The Stargate started to dial, causing everyone in the clearing, which was located strategically close and in sight of the Stargate, to turn and stare at it. No one knew quite what to do. The Atlantians knew that their people were NOT supposed to come through, and the Avarians hoped that it was someone who was going to negotiate with them. Turns out, it was neither. 

What, or rather who, stepped out of the gate was the Avarian President (whom the Atlantians had actually met but due to circumstances had been "detained and unavailable" for the actual meet and greet on Atlantis), and he wasn't happy. Along with his entourage, he stalked over to Tavis and began making angry gestures. He didn't speak. From the outside, it looked comical. Apparently, from the look on Tavis's face, the inside was a lot more terrifying.

Finally, the President, a tall balding man, turned to the Atlantians and spoke. "I want to apologize for this situation."

"Does this mean we can leave?" Sheppard asked before anyone else could get a word out.

The President looked surprised. "Oh, no. We've already signaled the Wraith. I've come to retrieve my subordinate and return to Avar."

"What about the Zero Point Module?" Rodney asked, causing Sheppard to elbow him in the side.

The President blushed. "It was something we were considering going after. My assistant," he gestured to Tavis, "merely overstepped. If we had been going to do this, it would have been farther down the road, when we could have _thought this out_." The man stressed those last words and glared at Tavis. "However, it's salvageable. The Wraith will be here in a few minutes, and we'll be long gone." He gestured to one of his entourage, who ran and started to dial the gate. "I'm sorry for this, truly. We might have been allies. For a while, at least."

The Atlantians watched silently as the Avarians left, and were too slow to move when the last one to go through, turned at the last minute and shot the DHD, preventing them from being able to dial Atlantis. Finally, all was silent.

"John, when will the Orion arrive?"

"They're circling the sun now, so they're out of communications, but it could be anywhere from an hour to two."

Elizabeth nodded. "Ronon, where could we stay hidden until the Orion arrived?"

"There are no natural caves or even hills to burrow into. This is one large flat area."

"Okay. Rodney, where's the nearest forest?"

"One mile west, if these maps are correct." Rodney was pulling map and map out of his backpack, as well as what appeared to be camouflage paint. The four others watched as he painted his face black while he studied the maps.

"Okay," Elizabeth smiled. "Gather up the supplies. We'll head for the forest, and if we arrive, we'll hide there."

"The Wraith will most likely send Darts down," Teyla commented as she picked up her pack.

Elizabeth nodded. "If they do, I want the team to split up. Try to keep them from ganging up on us." The others nodded, well aware that the Darts once targeted on someone, would do sweep and grabs with their "nets". Where one missed because the person dodged, the one behind would grab, and that's that. "If the Avarians have informed them who we are, I doubt they'll be sending only one or two ships."

The others nodded, and grimly refused to think about the future. It was the only way they survived these types of situations so often. Better yet, it's the only way their sanity survived. Slowly, but picking up speed, the team headed west towards the dense growth of the only forest around.

They'd only been walking about twenty minutes when the first hum reached their ears. Immediately the trackers/hunters of the group (Teyla and Ronon) turned to the East, with the others halting when they realized the duo had stopped. There came a stillness over them, not human in nature. It was the stillness of a deer in headlights, a wolf cornered, and gazelle in the lion's path all wrapped into one.

With moments, Ronon had latched onto Elizabeth's hand, taking off into the North, heading toward a large creek that the maps told him led to a lake. Following suit, Sheppard and Teyla took off to the South toward some rocky terrain. Unfortunately, this was the problem with odd-numbered teams...someone is always left out. Rodney stared incredulously at the retreating forms of his teammates.

"Now what am I suppos-oh...run..." Rodney took off to the West, of course, for the forest. As the three groups slowly got away from one another, four Wraith cruisers slipped into the atmosphere and began to track them. When they reached the point that the team had split, as their sensors told them, two of them continued West, and the other two in opposite directions. They quickly gained on the members of the team...

Ronon wrapped his arm around Elizabeth, pulling her over him as they rolled out of the way of the beam. However, this close to the creek, that roll carried them over the small ledge and straight into slightly rock and sand filled creek bed. The sand softened the blow, the rocks were small enough to only irritate, but the two-hundred+ Satedan that landed on top of her hurt. There was no time to even contemplate enjoying the arrangement, because Ronon was instantly at his feet and pulling her behind him.

"Where are we going?" Elizabeth asked as she brushed one soaked strand of hair behind an ear, noticing as she did a deep cut on her hand, probably from the fall.

"The lake."

"Why the lake?"

"The beams don't work in water."

"Really?" Elizabeth asked, not having ever encountered that fact before. "You couldn't have mentioned this the countless times our people have been chased by these things?"

"No one ever asked."

"Ass."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

They ran for all their might, using Ronon's innate sense of direction to stay on path. Every once and a while, they had to swerve and erratically sprint between the few trees and shrubberies around. It was about five minutes into the game of cat and mouse, since the Wraith could have caught them several times and didn't, when they heard a hoarse yell from the North. The couple froze for a few moments, while Elizabeth let out an agonized moan of, "Rodney."

Ronon couldn't allow her time to grieve, but thought to himself that when the time came, he would retrieve the scientist for Elizabeth. For himself as well. The scientist, though irritating, had a habit of growing on a person. Like fungus.

Finally, they reached the lake, if it could be called that. It was more like a pond, if not a spring. It was tiny, but from appearances deep. The hum started to deepen again, meaning the Wraith were going to make another pass at them. Ronon started to pull Elizabeth into the water, pausing when she gasped.

His wordless inquiry was answered with a shaky smile. "Cold."

"You swim in the waters of Atlantis and aren't cold, but this is?"

"I'm prepared for Atlantis, this is a bit of a shock...plus, I've been running."

Ronon nodded, pulling her close as they slowly floated in the middle of the "lake". Elizabeth, already weak from all the running, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hung on. "You're certain they can't get us from here?"

"Yes...they'll come down in person though when they realize that."

"Yeah, but I've got one of the best warriors in the galaxy at my disposal."

Ronon pushed her soaked bangs out of her face. "I'll protect you."

"I know."

About a mile in the opposite direction, Sheppard and Teyla weren't having the same luck. Though the rocky terrain made the single directional beam avoidable, ramming into rocks at full speed wasn't fun. After three collisions with rocks, and two with each other, Sheppard and Teyla ducked behind a particularly large rock and caught their breath.

"We can't continue like this, Colonel Sheppard."

"I know."

"We must either hide or fight."

"There's an idea."

"Colonel Sheppard, would you please contribute something to this conversation?"

"Do you hear something?"

Teyla, who'd been distracted by the closeness of Colonel Sheppard (not that she'd admit it), heard what he'd been focusing on. Whereas only one Dart had followed them before, now two were closing in. With the original circling from the south, another one was closing from the North. There would be no escape.

Sheppard and Teyla dodged the first ship, and dived right into the second's beam. They were caught up in the same transporter that McKay had been. Finally, the Dart turned North, and went after the final members of the team. The other two ships joined it, and together they headed for the only two members left uncaptured, Ronon and Elizabeth.

The couple floated in the water, watching as the four ships hovered and soared around them, perplexed as to why the beams weren't working. Elizabeth gasped as the lead ship came in on approach. Instead of trying to beam them into the data core...it started to fire.

"Ronon?"

"Start swimming," he told her, shoving her away from him and closer to shore. The sound of blasts hitting the water followed them as they reached the shore and rolled out of the way.

"What now?"

"We're captured," Ronon said simply, holding his leg where one of the blasts had caught him at last second.

Even as Elizabeth and Ronon stared at each other, eyes full of emotions both had hid, released, and kept unspoken; a Dart swooped down and beamed them up.

* * *

The first sight that greeted Elizabeth's eyes when consciousness returned to her...was Rodney's face about an inch from her's. Instinct was the first thing to reach her, so she slapped his face away from her's and jolted back. Okay, that wasn't her first instinct, but it allowed her to indulge in an urge she'd had for two years. 

Immediately, there was a flurry of activity on the edges of her sight, and the rest of her friends surrounded her. Ronon grasped her arm, which was still retreating from the gigantic shove she'd given to Rodney, who was now sprawled on the floor whining about his nose.

"Arg! I was just checking to see if she was awake!" Rodney yelled as Sheppard pulled him up and smacked him on the head. Elizabeth looked around, realizing that they were back on Atlantis.

"How did we get here?"

Sheppard stepped back so Dr. Beckett could take her vitals, but explained as he did so. "The Dart that came down and got us was one of our's."

"The experimental one equipped with Wraith transport technology." Sheppard nodded. "The one that wasn't working." He nodded again. "The one that turned all the other experimental transports into goo?" Once again, he nodded. Elizabeth fought the urge to vomit.

Dr. Beckett took this moment to interrupt. "Rest assured, Dr. Weir, you're fine. All of you."

Ronon picked up on the double entendre. "All of her, implying there's more to her than usual?"

The others, well, most, had no idea what he meant. Elizabeth answered. "Yes. There is."

Ronon smiled. Teyla chose that moment to speak up. "More of me to."

Ronon stared at her. "I thought Dr. Beckett said it was one in five?"

Beckett explained. "The guarantee of the odds said it would be at least one in five. However the natural odds of one in two meant that the others had equal chance as well."

Ronon smiled, and grasped Elizabeth's hand a little firmer. She smiled back. Teyla smiled at all. Rodney was still complaining. Beckett was smiling at Rodney. John was confused.

"More of what?"

* * *

**_FINISHED!_**

* * *

WOOT WOOT! I hope this was a satisfactory "Welcome Back Atlantis" present! I appreciate all love sent my way. 

Also, for any interested in why I chose this song and these lyrics, please ask or email me, and I shall explain ALL!


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